Full Blown Chaos - Within The Grasp Of Titans

Full Blown Chaos' latest release, Within The Grasp Of Titans, may get lost in the mix of all the latest metallic-hardcore bands around, but these guys shouldn't be brushed over -- at least right away. The album starts with the vicious burly growls from Ray Mazzola and crushing musicianship thanks to the rest of the guys. The music is powerful in fact, but I find myself kind of uninterested at first, but for once with an album, I find myself more and more interested as each song finishes. I relate this album to Dead To Fall because this is another band I have heard over and over again but am trying to force myself to like more then I maybe should. As far as crunchy break downs, they do succeed. I am in love with the vocals, but that is where it almost stops. Within In The Grasp Of Titans does throw in a ton of nicely placed gang vocals that will for sure have kids jumping all over the place, but I can't imagine many people being able to determine the differences in songs as the show progresses on. The track that I found myself attached to is "Suffer In Silence." It starts off pretty tough and filled with raw guitar work and super crunchy vocals; however, the lyrics are primarily a let down and, probably not to your surprise, are very standard for any "hardcore metal band." You will find yourself listening to a discussion of bleeding, empty souls and bitter tears. As if the album knew it was becoming dull, they finally try and make things appealing with "Rise & Fight." Guitarist Mike Facci finally gets that straight and over-the-top riffage, which does get boring to a point. He instantly throws in a little intricate guitar work instead of the conventional break down.

"Hallowed," once again, comes out of nowhere to save me. The absolutely mind blowing blast beats and pummeling percussion towards the end of the song nearly gave me chills. I have heard a few times that people are disappointed with the percussion or they feel as if it becomes lost in the music, but make sure you listen to this track all the way through because this bro seriously must have huge legs to destroy his bass drum as he does. The guitar is definitely the commanding force in every single song and "Hallowed" is a nice display of what Mike Ruehle is capable of. Full Blown Chaos are New York bro's with that NYHC metallic sound. They do it in a fashion that is rather conventional, but at least they are sticking to their roots. I have to admit my bias because I have never been a huge fan of this type of music. Like I previously stated, I have tried a few times to sit down and listen to bands such as these, but I quickly lose interest. The best way to describe this band is a much more boring version of The Red Chord. Mazzola has one insane growl, but the music constantly feels as if it is out of place. I am interested to see what would happen if they did throw in another guitarist and make things a little bit more technical. However, they would lose the original sound that they are most likely striving for - straightforward, brutal and honest hardcore. All in all, if they is what you are used to, or you consider yourself a true fan of, I am sure you will find yourself not disappointed with this release.

This review is a user submitted review from Pat Marquez. You can see all of Pat Marquez's submitted reviews here.